After being largely silent on the themes of sin and forgiveness for decades, theologians are returning to these themes with renewed intensity. Radical changes in contemporary society, however - such as the ways we experience guilt and shame, and liberation from both - require that we reconsider just exactly what sin is and, attendant to that, what forgiveness is as well. Pride in oneself, for example, a self-oriented self-affirmation of one's beauty or strength, which traditionally has been thought of as suspect at best, is now considered essential by society for an integrated life, and this emphasis has blurred the boundary between necessary self-assertion and sinful self-justification. In addition, many pressing questions arise from the contemporary scene: How do the biblical concepts of sin and forgiveness relate to our therapeutic society, informed as it is by psychology and the social sciences? How should we view the biblical language of atonement today? How does sin relate to the meaninglessness many feel in life? How can we make it clear that sin includes much more than questions of sexuality and morality? How must traditional dogmatic teaching on sin be reformulated to include the questions and insights of feminist theology, liberation theology, and economic ethics? How can we talk about God, human sin, and evil after Auschwitz and in view of the technical possibility of mass destruction? In this volume Christof Gestrich provides a thoroughgoing examination of the doctrine of sin and forgiveness in light of these and other important questions. Gestrich first canvasses developments in the doctrine of sin and evil from the thought of Augustine to contemporary times and discusses in depth such topics as the impact of philosophy on the theological doctrines of sin and humanity, the various theological interpretations of the fall and of original sin, and understanding evil in our time. He then turns to a discussion of the meaning and importance of the forgiveness of sins - the true means to the return of splendor in the world.